The present invention relates generally to a tubular carton or container and, more particularly, to such a container which is formed to include multiple article receiving compartments, and which may be separated to form a plurality of single compartment cartons.
It has, of course, long been known to package a plurality of articles within a carton or container to facilitate the purchase of a quantity of such articles by the consumer. For example, beverages packaged in individual cans or bottles may be placed into an end loading carton which holds a predetermined number of the cans or bottles. It is also known, but less common, to form the carton such that it defines a pair of article receiving compartments so that the carton may be conveniently split into two sections. For example, a carton can be designed having two compartments each holding twelve beverage cans. The entire carton, i.e., 24 cans, may be easily transported, or the carton may be split to produce two individual cartons of twelve cans each. The separation of the individual compartments may be done at the point of sale so that smaller quantities of the product may be sold, or may be performed later by the purchaser at his convenience.
Such a carton is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,677,458. There, the carton is formed having a common top wall and, for each compartment, individual side and bottom walls. The compartments are arranged with inner side walls placed adjacent each other. A tear strip is formed across the top wall along the line where the facing inner side walls meet the top wall. Removal of this tear strip enables the two compartments to be separated into individual containers.
One disadvantage with the multiple compartment container described above is that the separate bottom and inner side walls lessen the rigidity of the undivided container. Thus, the carton will feel less stable, may prematurely separate, may bend along the line of the tear strip or may skew causing difficulties in stacking a number of the containers. Further, the bending or skewing of the container may even lead to unwanted rupture of the compartments.
A further disadvantage of the multiple compartment container may result when using improvements in carton design made subsequent to the above-mentioned disclosure. It is now known to provide beveled ends for such cartons as a means of increasing the strength and rigidity of the carton. An example of this construction may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,861. The ends of the carton side walls are connected along fold lines to beveled end panels, which are in turn connected along fold lines to the end closing panels of the carton.
In relating this structure to the multiple compartment container, it should be noted that the beveled ends causes the facing inner side walls of the individual compartments to diverge near the ends thereof. This means that upon separating the carton into the components, portions of the top wall will project outwardly from the beveled side edges. This is not only unsightly, but presents an exposed edge which could, in the handling of the individual compartments, lead to tearing of the carton. One possible solution would be to terminate the tear strip on the common top wall at the points where the beveled end walls meet the inner side walls. However, this would reduce the connecting portion of the top wall and further decrease the stability of the overall carton.
What is needed, therefore, is a multi-compartment container which provides increased rigidity and stability prior to separation of the compartments into separate containers, and which provides a neat appearance and secure enclosure for the individual, separated compartments.